James Campbell and
Gene DiNovi

James Campbell
Called by the Toronto Star Canada's pre-eminent clarinetist and wind soloist, James Campbell has performed in most of the world's major concert halls.

James has collaborated and performed with many of the world's great musicians including the late Glenn Gould, Elly Ameling, Janos Starker, Menahem Pressler, Samuel Sanders, the Borodin Trio and Aaron Copland. He has been a guest soloist with over fifty orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia of London, the London Philharmonic and the Toronto Symphony.

James Campbell's introduction to the clarinet came from listening to his father's recordings, which centered on the great jazz artists Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and the big bands of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. His 1971 win of the Jeunesse Musicales Competition and subsequent explosion of classical solo concerts led him away from jazz until 1984 when fate stepped in and he was asked to fill in for an ailing Benny Goodman on a chamber music tour with the legendary Amadeus String Quartet. Following this tour, he met pianist Gene DiNovi, a musician whose name Campbell remembered from the jackets of his father's record collection. DiNovi and Campbell formed Classical Jazz and perform throughout Canada, Europe and Asia, in concert and with symphony orchestra with guest bassist Dave Young.

James is the Artistic Director of the Canadian summer music festival, The Festival of the Sound (Parry Sound, ON). As Artistic Director, he has taken the Festival to England on three occasions and it has been the subject of documentaries by BBC Television, CBC Television and TV Ontario.

Since 1989, James Campbell makes Bloomington his base during the academic year as Professor of Music at the prestigious Music School of Indiana University, returning to his home in Parry Sound each summer.

Gene DiNovi
began his musical life as a jazz pianist on 52nd Street - New York's legendary "Swing Street" - in 1945. As a 16-year-old, he heard and assimilated the style of "Bebop", the "New" jazz and had opportunities to play with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker who recognized his potential early on. Gene DiNovi moved on to become an accompanist to artists such as Peggy Lee, Lena Horne and Tony Bennett.

From there he graduated to Hollywood studios in the 1960s where he worked in movies and television with many great musicians in the field. He put in a decade in Hollywood as pianist, composer, orchestrator, and songwriter.

The 1970s brought him to Toronto. He immediately began performing concerts, club dates, and holding recording sessions. With the award winning classical clarinetist, James Campbell, Gene DiNovi created the popular "Jazz in a Classical Key". He gives seminars and master classes all over the North America's.